Washington Ethical Society

Amanda considers the monthly theme from the perspective of Buddhism. How does this largely non-theistic tradition imagine the divine? How does the concept of enlightenment tie in? And what does all of that mean for us as Ethical Culturists?

What if this were true? What if we were all kind, all the time? It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Rev. Strauss reflects on kindness as a fundamental moral principle. Sometimes the most profound ideas and practices are the most simple, and the hardest to live.

What do compromise, sustainability and (gasp!) amen have in common? At last year's auction, three WES members bought the right to a word--and asked Amanda to explore the meaning, origin and significance of those words in a platform address. Here it is!

Laughter is infectious, loneliness is catching, and fear spreads like wildfire. What would you like people to catch from you? Mary explores the contagious nature of the human condition.

On tax day, Amanda explores the democratic ideals of America's founding--and look at how those ideals are woven into Ethical Culture. She examines the liberal religious lives of many of our founding fathers (and mothers), and asks how we are fulfilling the promise of democracy in America and in the vote-less District of Columbia.

The idea of grace is present in everything from Christian theology to yoga chants...but what do people really mean when they talk about grace? Amanda considers grace from a philosophical perspective and will engage with a more experiential understanding from Jennifer. This dialogue offers a chance to explore an idea that is rich in meaning.

Amanda finishes a three-part series on how world religions and Ethical Culture answer key questions of faith and practice. She'll consider how we make moral choices: where we draw authority from, how we know we're doing the right thing, and how we choose among multiple "right" things.

We share a basic human need to connect with each other and with the world...a need, perhaps, for transcendence. How do different religions approach this need? How does our tradition, based in ethics and grounded in the human experience, respond? Does Ethical Culture have anything to say about what there is besides the tangible world we can see and taste and observe? Is that all there is?

The first in a series examining big questions through a world religions and Ethical Culture lens, this platform will explore opposing views of human nature. What does Ethical Culture say about human nature, and how did that view evolve--or depart--from other religious traditions? And what implications do these different views have on public policy in a country where religious views often underlie our most basic assumptions?

This address examines our connections with people, activities, and ideals with an eye to how these connections work for, or work against, our efforts to live ethically. Learning to differentiate between attachments and commitments cann help us develop a deeper understanding of what we hold most important and lead us toward living in greater accordance with our most cherished ideals.

Four WES members share how they find and nurture their passion at WES. Each has found ways to grow through our community, from the arts to social justice, but the tie that binds is the depth of their commitment.

Love. We want it, we seek it, we give it, we lose it, we find it, we speak of falling in and out of it, and making it but what is this thing called love? Aldous Huxley said of love: "Of all the worn, smudged, dog-eared words in our vocabulary, love is surely the grubbiest, smelliest, slimiest. And yet, it has to be pronounced for, after all, 'love' is the last word." Drawing on her interviews with WES couples, Mary weaves together an exploration of love, the most challenging and "ultimate" of human experiences.

We all carry multiple identifies--religious, cultural, family-based. How do we braid those identities together into one coherent whole? What does it mean to be an Ethical Culturist who practices Buddhist meditation and celebrates Jewish holidays at home? And how might our congregation choose to explore our own multiple identities?

The US has historically projected two conflicting messages: w promote our founding myth as a haven for those fleeing persecution, even as we have spurned the newcomer as not authentically American. Our nation is experiencing one of its periodic episodes of nativism and xenophobia. For those who are ethically minded, it is the occasion to deepen our commitment to the best of American ideals. It is time for us to reconsider our relationship to "the other," the stranger in our midst.

As a community, we turn our attention to our Statement of Purpose--our touchstone for visioning, for planning, for understanding who we are as a people. Amanda and Mary explore the need for purpose in a religious congregation, and as they share their own thoughts on what it might look like for us to live with purpose.

Amanda uses Dr. Martin Luther King's anti-war work as a springboard for thinking about America's military, the ethics of support for the military generally and for individual troops, and WES's own involvement in conscientious objector status work. A challenging and thought-provoking platform.

As we begin our congregational theme of Worth & Dignity, Amanda explores what this basic Ethical Culture principle really means in our daily lives. How do we act out our belief in the worth of people who are different than we are? How could our community and our world look if we sought out those who are different? And why would we want to do that?

Memorial Day could be about honoring those who committed their all to what mattered in ways that create rather than destroy. Nonviolent action to achieve freedom and social justice has a long history and be highly effective.

Religious studies author Karen Armstrong refers to our species as "homo religiosis." Amanda explores everything from scientific research on meditation and longevity to our own experiences, and imagines what it might mean to be wired for a religious life.

"Dreams, I have come to believe, are almost always partnerships...they require both dreamers and dream makers."--Robert Peyton. As we welcome new members and celebrate 35+ year memberships, we take this opportunity to explore the meaning of belonging to an Ethical Culture community, the vision that inspires commitment, and the role of human connections in creating bounty or deprivation in our lives.